Previously published in The Daily Riff January 2010
Are We Creating A Culture Of Unprepared High Achievers?
Race To Nowhere takes us on a most illuminating ride into the behind-the-scenes world of our high achieving student culture and brilliantly lays out a paradoxical scenario of whether we are inadvertently killing our students' love of learning, setting up an health-adverse protocol and whether these students are actually learning for the long-term.
More importantly, it sets the framework for the discussion about what constitutes "success" in our schools, how we as a culture can better facilitate real learning as opposed to extrinsic signs of achievement, and how we define success and achievement in our society as a whole. Vicki Abeles is director.
CLICK link here to watch 5 min. video clip addressing Advanced Placement (AP) courses in high schools which may break some of our preconceived bubbles. Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side Of America's Achievement Culture.
I really like your writing style, and I'm hoping for more stories like this one.
Stimulating article asking good questions and searching for good answers! When did high school just become a preparation for ACT/ SAT exams and college? What happened to "enjoying the high school experience," learning how to read and think critically, and "loving learning for its own sake"? Once again we may be sending the message that quantity is more important than quality, that acquiring and memorizing facts is more important than understanding and integrating them in a process of lifelong learning.